Chapter 92…
Rikaiyan, who was perhaps born with a naturally sharp intuition, seemed to instantly notice many things the moment he saw Cynthia without Elizabeth’s appearance. Including the fact that she was no longer the young lady of House Bailey, but a powerless commoner.
Thinking of the countless women who had fallen victim to Rikaiyan’s hands until now, Tession felt an uncontrollable wave of anxiety.
“Your Grace… is there nowhere you can think of where he might have taken her?”
At Ruth’s question, Tession shook his head.
He knew that Rikaiyan often visited private villas built throughout the Empire with nobles of similar standing, but back then, Tession couldn’t see. He couldn’t even tell where those places roughly were.
‘Even if you can’t see, it’ll still be fun. Won’t you come with us?’
Rikaiyan had occasionally invited him, but Tession always refused, which only made things worse.
Tession lowered his head, filled with a vague sense of regret. He had finally thought he could bring Cynthia fully to his side, yet now it felt as if he had lost her right before his eyes. He felt like a helpless child.
“Um… Your Grace. Don’t you think you should tell me what’s going on now? I need to know at least the general situation if I’m going to be of help to you. Letting things slide like this is…”
Standing beside him, carefully watching his mood, Ruth finally spoke up.
“…”
Tession sighed and bowed his head. He hadn’t wanted to reveal this secret, but now that Cynthia’s whereabouts had become uncertain, he had no choice but to accept help from anyone.
After hesitating, he finally spoke.
“Cynthia isn’t Lady Bailey.”
“Pardon?”
“Elizabeth Bailey died long ago in an accident. House Bailey didn’t want to give up the Ritemper Merchant Guild, which they were supposed to return once Elizabeth and I married. So they put Cynthia forward as a fake Lady Elizabeth to continue the engagement.”
Ruth’s eyes widened more and more as he listened.
“What? Is… is that true? How could they dare—”
“But when the return of the Ritemper Guild progressed more slowly than expected, House Bailey no longer wanted to shoulder the risk. So they demanded that Cynthia terminate the contract…”
“And… Miss Cynthia, abandoned by them, came to the Grand Duke’s residence.”
Instead of answering, Tession looked toward Dominic and the hunting dogs. The dogs were sniffing the ground, searching for a direction.
“But I still don’t understand. Wouldn’t that be the end of it? Why did Your Grace take in Miss Cynthia?”
“…”
Tession gave no answer, but after looking at his expression, Ruth felt he understood.
“Ah…”
Looking at Tession with pity, Ruth turned away and approached the stable keeper. Whatever complicated circumstances there were, the priority was rescuing the desperately sought-after Cynthia.
“I think we should take horses instead of the carriage. Prepare ones that can run fast without tiring easily.”
“Yes, sir.”
Now… what else can I do?
Ruth thought quickly, searching for anything he could do for his master. Soon something came to mind and he returned to Tession.
“Your Grace, if I’m correct… His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince enjoys the scent of the Titreonia flower, does he not?”
The Titreonia flower.
Tession had some knowledge of it.
Normal Titreonia flowers were simple ornamentals. However, when treated with special chemicals, their scent created a kind of hallucination by stimulating the nerves. Rikaiyan especially loved inhaling that scent while drunk, becoming even more intoxicated and losing control as he spent the night with women.
“It’s highly addictive, from what I know. If Miss Cynthia was exposed to it…”
“Haa…”
At Ruth’s speculation, Tession lifted a hand to cover his eyes. Even imagining it was horrifying.
Seeing Tession’s face turning pale, Ruth spoke carefully.
“I think we should take an antidote for the Titreonia flower’s effects, just in case. That way we can act immediately the moment we find her.”
He was right. Even if they found Cynthia after following Rikaiyan, there was no guarantee she would still be in her right mind.
The antidote to the Titreonia flower… Only one person came to mind.
“Go to the magic apothecary in the city.”
“The one on Lusos Street, sir?”
“Yes. There should be a man named Enoch there. Ask him for the antidote. He’ll help.”
“Understood!”
Ruth immediately mounted one of the horses the coachman had brought.
“Then I’ll fetch the antidote and catch up right away!”
As he rode off, Dominic shouted from where he was watching the dogs sniffing the ground.
“The hounds seem to have picked up a direction! Let’s follow them!”
Tession forced strength into legs that kept wanting to give out and approached the horse. With the saddle quickly placed, he climbed onto its back. Gripping the thick reins, he took a steadying breath.
His vision was spinning, but he had to stay conscious.
“Hyah!”
He yanked the reins hard, and the large horse began to run forward.
“Uugh…!”
Cynthia stumbled forward and fell as she stepped down from the carriage.
“Oh dear, that pretty dress must be dirty now. Help her up.”
Behind her, Rikaiyan’s relaxed voice sounded. Cynthia cursed internally but leaned on the arms lifting her from both sides.
How am I supposed to walk with my eyes covered like this?! I can’t see anything!
When the knights forced her into the imperial carriage, they blindfolded her with a pure white cloth. It was probably to keep her from knowing where they were taking her.
Her sense of direction was lost, and she couldn’t even tell how much time had passed since leaving the Grand Duke’s estate. Just how far have we come…?
At that moment, the knights holding her suddenly let go. Not knowing where she was standing, Cynthia flailed her arms forward.
“Uh…”
Surely she wasn’t about to walk off a cliff or bump into something tall right in front of her?
Unable to move freely, she panicked and barely managed to speak.
“Y–Your Highness… where are we?”
“Is that what you’re curious about?”
What kind of question is that?! Of course she was!
Anger surged up, but she swallowed it down.
“Is it frustrating not being able to see properly?”
Obviously. Cynthia nodded silently.
“Can you imagine now just how suffocating and hopeless your fake fiancé’s life must have been?”
“Ah…”
“Despite that, Tession always accomplished everything with ease. Even more so than me, who can see the world clearly.”
Rikaiyan’s voice suddenly lowered.
What exactly was the relationship between Rikaiyan and Tession? They didn’t seem fond of each other, so they clearly weren’t friends, but it didn’t seem like they could be described as simple rivals either.
“My father’s praise and expectations for the Grand Duke… When I was young, that made me terribly spiteful. He couldn’t even see and had no parents, yet he received all the good words. It was infuriating. So sometimes, I would take things from him—things that looked nice to have. Though watching him quietly surrender them without complaint wasn’t exactly pleasant either.”
“…”
“Maybe from his perspective, it was less troublesome to just give in whenever I threw a tantrum. But he never reacted, no matter what I did, so eventually I got bored and stopped.”
Someone was approaching—she could hear footsteps coming closer.
“But then, that Tession finally found something he wanted for himself. Something he was afraid I might take.”
What does that mean?
As she frowned, relying only on her hearing, someone grabbed her chin and lifted it forcefully.
“It was amusing and refreshing at first. I thought I’d leave at least one thing he wanted alone… but now I’ve become interested too.”
“Ugh…”
A cold voice fell right in front of her. The grip on her chin tightened painfully.
So… so scary… From the strength in his hand, Cynthia could feel the madness she already knew from the original novel.
Soon, Rikaiyan spoke with a disturbing hint of excitement.
“Shall we have some fun today? I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too.”
